Yoke



April 3, 1934.

W. S. TROWBRIDGE YOKE Filed Aug. 14, 1930 gli l Patented Apr. 3, 1934 YOKE William S. Trowbridge, Chicago,

Ill., assignor to American Steel Foundries, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 14, 1930, Serial No. 475,142

Claims.

This invention pertains to yokes, and more particularly to key supporting and retaining means therefor.

An object of this invention is to provide a i simple, reliable and efcient key support for a yoke, the direct supporting means of which is removable yet cannot be accidentally displaced once it is in key supporting position.

An object of the invention is to provide key l0 retaining means for yoke construction which is provided with a wear and safety feature wherein the retaining means is not rendered inoperative should a part of the retaining means be accidentally displaced or lost.

A further object of the invention is to provide a key support for draft gear adapted to meet all requirements of manufacture and service.

With these and various other objects in view, the invention may consist of certain novel features of construction and operation as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the specification, drawing and claims appended hereto.

In the drawing, which illustrates an embodi- Vment of the device and wherein like reference characters are used to designate like parts- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a yoke construction embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the yoke construction shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation taken substantially in the plane as indicated by line 3-3 of Figure l; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation taken substantially in the plane as indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

In the construction shown, the Janney yoke l0 is provided with upper and lower arms 12 and 14 connected by means of a rear vertical strap 16 preferably cast integral therewith, said arms terminating adjacent their forward ends with the coupler butt receiving portions 13 and 20 connected by means of the vertical straps 22, the forward ends of said arms forming a head which is enlarged to permit angling of the coupler 24. The head is provided with the aligned keyways 25 and 26 adapted to receive the vertical key 28 extending through said keyways and through a registering keyway formed in the coupler shank 24.

The yoke is provided with depending spaced lugs 30, disposed on both sides of the keyway 26 and extending below the head 32 of the key 28. The lugs are recessed as at 3ft on the inner sur- 55 faces thereof, the rear wall 36 being interrupted to form an entrance to said recesses, and each of the lugs is apertured as at 38 for the reception of the locking bolt iO-which is adapted to extend between said lugs and be secured by means of the nut 42 shown seated on the split 60 or lock washer 44 and locked in its position by means of the cotter 46. The opposite end of the bolt, of course, is provided with a head 48 adapted to be locked to prevent the bolt from being rotated by means of the outwardly extending lug or shoulder 50 formed on one of the lugs 30.

Instead of having the depressed portion 52 of the key 28 seated directly upon the shank of the bolt flu, a metal wear sleeve or ferrule 54 is used 70 to encase the shank in way of the head of the key. The ferrule is slipped in place through the entrance formed by the interrupted wall 36 of the recesses of the lugs, and then the bolt is inserted through the apertures the nut 42 and the proper Cotter 46.

With such construction additional strength is added for supporting the key, and also means is provided for retaining the key should the bolt be retracted for any reason, such as for example, if it be damaged to such an extent that it would work loose. In addition to these important features, the ferrule or sleeve forms a wear member interposed between the key and pin for taking al1 wear from the retaining pin and as the sleeve is susceptible to rotation, the wear thereon is distributed so that both the sleeve and pin will be long lived.

It will be noticed that so long as the ferrule is urged downwardly by means of the key it cannot become dissociated from the lugs on account of the disposition of the recesses, and therefore a very advantageous structure is provided.

It is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited by the exact embodiment of the device shown, which is merely by way of illustration and not limitation, as various and other forms of the device will of course be apparent tothose skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a railway draft mechanism, the combination of a yoke, a coupler, a vertical key for connecting said yoke and coupler, said yoke having projections disposed adjacent said key, said projections having oppositely disposed recessed portions, supporting means for said key, said means including a bolt normally supported by said projections, and a sleeve loosely supported upon said bolt, said sleeve being disposed in spaced relation 110 38 and retained by 753;

tions extending to and terminating at one edge thereof, supporting means for said key, said'Y means including a bolt normally supported by said projections, and a sleeve: looselysupported upon said bolt, said sleeve being disposed in spaced relation to the walls of `said recessed portions whereby the same is free to rotate on said bolt, said sleeve projecting into said recesses .and being adapted to engage with said projections fori-support: of said key uponremoval or displacementv of` :said bolt.

3. In a draft rigging, the combination of oppositely disposed supporting members providedY with recessed portions, a member disposed between said supportingV members, and-means for supporting said second-named member onsaid rst named members, said means including a bolt secured to said supporting members, and a sleeve 4,looselyisupported on said bolt and being disposed inspaced relation-Ato the walls of said recessed portions whereby the same is free to rotate on said bolt, said sleeve projecting into said recesses andfbeing adapted to engage with said supporting members for support ofA said second-named member yupon removal or displacement of said bolt.

4. In a draft rigging, the combination of oppoe sitely disposed supporting members provided with recessed portions, said portions extending to and terminating at one edge thereof, a member dis-j posed between said supporting members, and means for supporting said second-named member on said rst-named members, said means including a bolt secured tov said supporting members, and a sleeve enterable through said recessed portions and loosely supported on said bolt, said sleeve being disposed in spaced relation to the walls of said recessed portions whereby the same is free to rotate on said bolt, said sleeve projecting into said recesses and being adapted to engage'with said supporting members for support of'` said seccnd-namedmember upon remo-val or displacement of said bolt.

5. In a draft rigging, the combination of oppositely disposed supporting members provided with recessed portions, said portions extending to and terminating at one edgethereoi, a member disposed between said supporting members, and

means for supporting said second-named member on said first-named members, said means including a bolt secured to said supporting members, and a tubular sleeve enterable through said. recessed portions and loosely supported on said bolt, said sleeve being disposed in spaced relation to the walls of said recessed portions whereby the same is free to rotate on said bolt, said sleeve projectingl into said recesses and being adapted to engage with said supporting members for support of said second-named member upon removal or displacement ci said bolt.

WILLIAM S. TROWBRIDGE. 

